Congratulations on the legendary victory FNG, hopefully it will be the first of many.

I wouldn't worry to much about losing the recon vehicle, at least I haven't really found a use for the Sd.Kfz 222's thus far. They're too fragile for the front, even a regular Rifle squad can knock a wheel off.

I also don't really miss their Sighting bonus much. It's only +4 and something like an Iron Cross 2nd Class already gives you +2. Their movement speed is also quickly decreased in difficult terrain, in part because there's no all terrain wheeled movement (or a bonus for vehicles with more than 4 wheels for the 231 for example), at least not that I'm aware of. The 222 didn't perform too well off-road historically, but it's remarkable how slow it is. I can work with Sd.Kfz. 231's as those are less fragile, but the 222's are a bit too fragile to be of much use in my campaign thus far.

Units that have recon in their attributes have a sighting bonus. Give them a SOP Cautious and use short Advance orders with a pause during reaction. Enemy movement may reveal itself. Also since they are higher than troops heads, you may spot something that troops don't.

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Conflict of Heroes "Most games are like checkers or chess and some have dice and cards involved too. This game plays like checkers but you think like chess and the dice and cards can change everything in real time."

The 222s are difficult to use well. I would say they are not a particularly strong unit, but anything with a 20mm cannon can be useful when Soviet infantry abound. Their vulnerability and poor off-road performance are definitely their weak points. Their ability to spot better than your other vehicles does give them some utility, but I have a tough time getting them through missions without damage to. The Advance -> Cautious is one of the better methods to use them if you can be patient and if you don't have enough infantry to scout ahead, they are the next best thing.

I started out using Advance > Cautious until I had some idea of where the enemy was located. After that, short Rush orders from cover to cover helped expose more units for artillery barrage or to be attacked by panzers. They are very flimsy but as noted above, a 20mm cannon is useful if you deploy them as security on an objective once the main force has passed.

I forgot to mention that the second Stuka arrived and attacked one of my HMG teams! Fortunately there were no casualties. Onward to the next engagement...

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FNG Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.

Soviet artillery can be a real pain, on the first few turns of the battle I'm playing now, my forces were greeted by 203mm, 120mm and Katyusha barrages. It felt a bit like SPWWII, where you could set around 1/5 of the map on fire on turn 1 with Wurfrahmen.

By the way, it must've been quite a skilled Stuka pilot if he could see and engage the HMG squad and gave it priority over all other targets. During my first battle, my trucks parked 600 meters from the front were also engaged by a Stuka, luckily the bomb missed.

With multiple objectives, it depends on their relative positions. Usually I'll go for a left or right hook, using artillery smoke to protect the open flank and a small holding force to watch out for counter attacks or mobile forces that I haven't previously spotted. Concentration of forces is very important to gain local superiority.

I tend to save my artillery for smoke barrages and attacks of opportunity when you spot infantry in the open.

To defend against artillery is a bit more random. If I have an armoured platoon that has been stationery (or not moved far) for a turn or two, then my next order, wherever possible, will be a Rush. Their previous position will frequently get carpeted :) It is imprecise though and you will occasionally get caught with your trousers down! Infantry are less mobile and more fragile, so I try to keep them moving or in hard cover. This is not always possible so you have to accept that occasionally you'll get hammered.

< Message edited by FNG -- 5/19/2011 5:42:38 PM >

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FNG Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.

The second battle in the campaign is another assault, this time through a village. I have been given three Pz Kpfw IIs, two panzer grenadier squads and one 50mm mortar team as support. The plan has been as follows:

HQ and Pz Kpfw III platoons push through the centre, while three panzer grenadier squads leapfrog through the buildings, supported by the 50mm mortar. Pz Kpfw IV platoon to find and engage known Soviet armour (T-26s) on the right, supported by two panzer grenadier squads and a Pz Kpfw II. Recon platoon and two attached Pz Kpfw IIs to go wide left to threaten the objective.

We join the action in turn 14 after most of the village is secure. A number of T-26s have been destroyed on the right, where 76mm infantry guns have also been spotted. The Soviet infantry has had a rough time of it due to little anti-tank support.

I really like this map - the village allows you to deploy and advance your infantry in cover, but can also hide some unpleasant surprises as the next set of screenshots will show! The variety of woods and open ground in other areas of the map is challenging because you frequently lose contact with enemy units, but certainly keeps things exciting.

< Message edited by FNG -- 5/22/2011 4:22:05 PM >

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FNG Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.

The maxim is spotted by a panzer and fired upon, while the rest of the Pz IIIs hold the village and engage advancing Soviet infantry. On the right, the Pz IV platoon continues to find and kill Soviet infantry.